For the Love of Belle
by Kristen3
Summary: Regina has put a spell on Belle, so that she is unable to read. Rumpelstiltskin has to do what he can to comfort his beloved, AND find a way to get the Queen to undo the spell. Set in early Season 2. One-shot.


Belle was glad she'd made it to the pawnshop. It was a miracle she'd found her way here, between her tears, and what had just happened. But she breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed the door open. There stood Rumple behind the counter. He would know what to do.

"What happened?" Rumpelstiltskin took her in his arms at once, holding her close.

When Belle had calmed herself enough to speak, she pulled out of the embrace. "I just ran into Regina on my way back here. I yelled at her, told her I didn't deserve to be put in asylum. I suppose I went a bit too far, but I just couldn't help myself. I was so angry!"

Rumple hugged her again. The Evil Queen had certainly made enough people angry lately. "She deserved it, dearie. Don't worry about it," he whispered, hugging her once more.

"But there's more," Belle said, loving how it felt to be in his arms. She pulled out of the embrace a moment later, wanting to speak to him face-to-face. "She got angry, too. And she told me she'd punish me for speaking to her that way. She took away the thing I love most – after you of course!"

Rumple looked at her in confusion. What could Regina possibly do that would upset her so much?

Belle saw that Rumpelstiltskin wasn't getting it. "Books. I can't read anymore. When I look at words now, I can't make them out. How am I supposed to read a book now?"

Rumpelstiltskin's heart broke. As long as he'd known Belle, she'd always had her nose in a book. His first instinct was to find the queen and kill her. It wasn't like anyone in this town would mourn her loss. But he looked at Belle, who always urged him not to give into those desires, and knew he couldn't. Slowly, he calmed down and began to think rationally. "Well, if you can't read, I'll read to you. Whatever you want, dearie. I know it won't be the same, but it's something. I'll do anything to make you happy."

"You'd do that for me?" Belle asked in disbelief.

Rumple nodded. "I would do anything." He repeated the words, knowing how true they were. Before her, the only thing he'd cared about was his precious deals. Those deals gave him power, and nothing mattered more than that. But Belle made him believe he could be better than that.

"I suppose that would be OK," Belle said, after the silence between them had gone on. But she couldn't deny she missed the idea of spending hours in a quiet corner, drifting away into the pages of a book. Even though Rumple was being incredibly kind with this offer, it wouldn't be nearly the same.

"Come on, we'll start right now," Rumple said, kissing her forehead. "This won't be as bad as you think." He led her by the hand to his bedroom. Obediently, Belle got into his bed. The mattress was unbelievably comfortable. "I was going to give you this book tonight, over a romantic dinner, but I think it's better if I give it to you now." He held up a book. His heart broke when he realized she had no idea what it was called. "This story should seem very familiar to you, although it isn't quite the same." Rumpelstiltskin sat beside her on the bed, holding her hand.

He began to read. _"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl who loved books..."_ This wasn't their story, not exactly, but Rumpelstiltskin had thought Belle would enjoy reliving it through this fairytale. He read on, as the beautiful Belle slowly fell in love with the beast and began to realize there was something beautiful about him, despite his appearance.

Belle felt a tear make its way down her cheek as the story went on. She knew there were pictures in the book, but there was no point in looking at the pages. Why bother, when she'd only see words that meant nothing to her now? So, she closed her eyes, focusing instead on Rumpelstiltskin's voice as he read.

With a smile, Rumple reached the end of the story. Just like the real-life version, it had a happy ending. He turned to Belle, eager to see if she had enjoyed it. But he found that his beloved had fallen fast asleep. Even like this, she lived up to her name. _Beautiful_ didn't begin to describe her.

Now that Belle was safe for the time being, it was time for Rumpelstiltskin to think of what to do. He knew Belle would not want him to seek revenge on the Queen, no matter how much she deserved it. But that didn't mean he couldn't have a word or two with her.

Making sure that Belle was properly covered up, Rumpelstiltskin left her there. Quickly, he closed the pawnshop and headed off to the mayor's office.

Without bothering to knock, Rumpelstiltskin entered Regina's black-and-white office. "You!" he yelled when he saw her calmly sitting behind a desk, doing paperwork.

"What? What did I do now?" Regina looked up, deciding to play innocent.

"You put a spell on Belle. She can't read anymore!"

"Well, I'm sorry about that, but she deserved it. She talked back to me. _The Queen_!"

"Whatever Belle did to you, she doesn't deserve this!" Rumpelstiltskin argued. "Not after all you've done to her. And to us!"

"You can't blame me for the curse," Regina replied. "You created it! That's your own fault!"

"It's true, I did create the curse that bought us all here," Rumple admitted. "But that has nothing to do with Belle! You can't leave her like this!"

Regina laughed. It was a sound that made Rumpelstiltskin remember who she used to be, in the Enchanted Forest. "Why should I do anything about it?"

"Because you know what it's like to love someone. You love Henry, and as much as people hate you right now, you don't want them to harm him. That's how I feel about Belle."

His words startled Regina. She thought of her son. The only reason she considered giving up her identity as the Evil Queen. Even when she'd never been good at loving other people, Henry had found a way to show her she could. If Belle had done that for Rumpelstiltskin, well, maybe they finally had something in common. She sighed. "Fine."

"Good," Rumpelstiltskin replied, with a nod. "I'm glad we understand each other."

Regina looked at Rumple, hating the thought of giving in to him. But, with no other choice, she waved her arms in front of her. "There. Your precious Belle is back to her old self again."

"Very well. Always a pleasure to see you, Your Majesty." With one more nod, Rumpelstiltskin turned around and walked back out of her office. He was proud of himself. Not only had he managed to deal with the Queen without giving in to his desire to kill her, but Belle was now his again. Only she could've made this possible. Love, the foundation of every fairytale, really could work miracles.

**The End**


End file.
